


Gotta Catch 'Em All

by Bejules



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Best Friends, But its cute and happy, Fluff, Jared plays Pokemon Go, M/M, Pre-Canon, They have super nerdy crushes on each other, and probably very OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 23:42:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11115366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bejules/pseuds/Bejules
Summary: God I'm so sorry, but like when Pokemon Go came out Jared would actually want to go to the park with Evan?? And they'd be so cute??





	Gotta Catch 'Em All

Jared had barely looked up from his phone since he and Evan exited the car and started their walk. Evan was lost in the nature surrounding him, and he kept rambling and spilling little facts about plants they had passed by. He did not mind that Jared was missing the beautiful sight of the trees and yellow grass. He was just glad that the other boy had finally agreed to come to Ellison Park with him. It is the one good thing that game did for the nerdy teenager.

It was some Pokemon app that had to be played by actually going places in real life. Jared could be found wandering around the neighborhood at almost any hour with his nose in his phone. His quest for more Slowpokes was his only source of exercise. It also meant that Jared would tag along with Evan if he ever went anywhere with a potential Pokestop at it. Which resulted in the two of them hiking in Ellison Park; both boys were doing their favorite things. Evan admiring the outdoors, and Jared playing video games.

Evan had to stop his shorter friend from tripping over roots or crashing into trees a couple of times. Jared was just too immersed in his game. It seemed dangerous, so instead of playing he decided to describe everything he saw in great detail for Jared. The two walked slowly and the blond was appreciating the long and peaceful stroll with his best friend. He never thought that the other boy would every accompany him to the park, even if he was not paying attention to any of the nature around them. His company was enough to put a smile on Evan's face.

They took a second to stop so Jared could catch a Pikachu (which he _squealed_ when he found), and Evan took the time to catch his breath, and he inspected the tree they were paused at. He ran his fingers over the coarse bark and smiled to himself. He started to describe the Maple Tree out loud. Not necessarily towards Jared because he knew he would not care. He just spoke aloud to the air and let the facts come naturally spilling out of his mouth. To his surprise Jared took a step next to him, and closer to the tree, and brought his hand up to feel the tree as well.

"You know a lot about trees, huh?" Jared chuckled as he spoke. He brought his hand down and placed it on his hip.

Evan a little startled that Jared was actually listening to him sputtered, "What? Yeah. Yeah I do. I guess it's a little bit weird."

"No!" Jared almost shouted, "It's not weird. You just always talk about knowing all this stuff. I never knew you actually _knew_  any of that stuff."

"If I did not know anything about it, then- then why would I talk non-top about it?"  Evan grinned. He also took his hand down from the tree and changed his position, so now he had his back leaning against it. He was not so sure what to do with his arms at this point. He crossed them for a moment, but then decided to let them rest at his sides. The fingers on his left hand continued to rub against the bark. The rigidness calmed him.

"I dunno. Maybe you were trying to impress me?" Jared laughed as Evan coughed in embarrassment. A light pink shade crept up across Evan's cheeks while he tried to sputter a reply to his friend.

"Not everything is about you, Jared!" It was a light-hearted statement, but Evan immediately regretted saying it, "Sorry! I-I did not mean it - Did not mean it like that. I just, yeah I like trees." Smooth recovery, Hansen.

"It's okay, Evan. Please don't hyperventilate." Evan had not even realized how worked up he got. Jared wished that his friend could be able to make jokes without dying all of the time, but he knew that was not going to change. He decided to return the conversation to a place where Evan would be more comfortable. He asked, "Tell me more about this tree?" Jared fluttered his eyelashes as a joke, but Evan almost swooned.

"Uhh, okay. This is a Maple Tree. It's actually my favorite." Evan felt stupid saying that out loud.

"Oh? Why?" Evan cocked his head to the side. Since when did Jared care about what he had to say, especially about nature? The smaller of them had not been on his phone during the entirety of their conversation, and that had to be a record for Jared.

"I don't uh really know. I just kind of relate to them? I took a bunch of quizzes on- online. It's embarrassing, but they are individuals, and just want to feel free and at peace." Evan did not recognize the fire and passion that had been building up in his voice as he spoke, but Jared did. He was staring at Evan with awe and admiration in his expression. The blond felt a bit uncomfortable. What was with Jared today? He never looked at Evan like _that._ "What is it?" Evan asked.

"You're adorable." Jared could not stop the words from spilling out of his mouth, but he kept his uncaring and joking persona up as he brought his other hand up to his hip. Evan did not respond; he had no idea how to. Instead he darted his eyes down to avoid contact with Jared's underneath his glasses. Jared moved on quickly from that statement to go back to the subject of trees, "Well, It's cool you know all of this stuff about actual trees. I only know the names of trees that are in Minecraft."

Evan laughed at Jared's words. A loud and almost awkward laugh, but his friend chuckled along with him. Suddenly his phone lit up and he unlocked it to resume playing Pokemon Go. Evan knew that their moment had passed. He sighed and congratulated himself for surviving that and not vanishing into thin air, or running far, far into the park; never to be seen by anyone again.

Then Jared extended his arm, and grabbed Evan's hand with his. "There's a Dratini this way!" Jared exclaimed as he started to quickly walk another direction into the park. He dragged Evan along with him to follow him to the location of the virtual monster.

They had been walking for a few feet, and Evan's hand was still enveloped in Jared's. _Now_ he was actually going to die. The two walked as if they were not connected, but Evan started sweating, and he was very sure that his hand was getting more sweaty and awkward to hold, which made him even more sweaty and nervous. Jared did not seem to mind this though, and he swung their hands back and forth to the tune he was humming out loud. He must have really liked that game.

They finally reached the destination where the Dratini appeared on Jared's phone. He smiled wide while rapidly clicking on it. He finally dropped Evan's hand to focus on catching the Pokemon and playing his game. Evan let out another shaky sigh, and he wiped his hand against his pants in attempts to get rid of some of the sweat. After a few swipes, Jared accomplished his goal and let out a cheer. "Dude, I'm only four candies away from a Dragonite!" He noticed Evan's puzzled look and started to explain, "It's this super cute and fat dragon Pokemon that I _need_  cause it's amazing." Evan just nodded as if he understood. The two started walking again.

Evan almost jumped out of his skin as Jared nudged his arm with his elbow. He held out his arm towards the blond nervous wreck. "Hand," he requested.

In the same beat Evan's face started heating up, and a deep, pink blush formed. "Wha- Why?" Evan sputtered.

"Duh... You're uh... Good luck!" Jared smiled. Evan did not want to upset his best friend, and he could get used to holding hands with Jared anyways. He complied and slipped his hand into the shorter's. Jared continued to swing their arms back and forth. He played his game with only one hand grasping his phone. His other hand was tightly squeezing Evan's sweaty one. "It's funny," Jared said suddenly.

Oh God. "What is?" Evan asked timidly. He had been found out, his entire friendship with Jared was done and over with. This whole hand holding thing was just a test, and Evan had completely failed it. Jared probably only even came to the park with him as a joke and now-

"We both are knowledgable in totally useless areas. You know way too much about trees and nature, and I know a concerning amount about video games like Pokemon." 

Oh. _Oh_. Evan chuckled again. "That is true." He turned his head to look at Jared. His glasses were on the bridge of his nose. They fell a bit from staring down at his phone. His face was red with beads of sweat forming. His hair was tousled and messy. There was also a cute, content smile on his face that melted Evan's heart. He may have been a sweaty mess, but he still looked perfect to the blond teenager. Jared glanced up and his eyes met Evan's brown ones. His face lit up to match the other's smile. It was a pure and soft moment, and Evan almost forgot to breath when he accidentally moved his gaze to Jared's lips.

His eyes widened and he quickly looked away. Jared did not seem to notice anything off about their situation. The two walked in silence. Both had blushes spread across their cheeks and a million thoughts bursting in their heads. They did not know how to feel, but they both knew that there was a good feeling in their stomachs. The two both felt the butterflies fluttering, and smiled to themselves. Jared could not stop staring at his hand gripping his best friend's own. Evan tried his best to ignore the heat coming from the connection.

Jared Kleinman could catch every Pokemon on his phone, but all he wanted to catch was Evan Hansen's heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Feedback is super appreciated! :D
> 
> Tumblr: MichaelMellTrash


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